Disappointing! That is probably the best way to describe Tuesday’s presidential debate. Both candidates obviously had prepared their talking points and were going to express them, no matter what question they were asked. During the 50 or so minutes that I watched the debate, neither candidate directly addressed the questions they were asked.
The two moderators of the debate are highly respected. I had hoped they would keep the candidates on task. Here is what I would have liked to hear them say to the candidates: “Those are interesting comments, but I asked you this question, which you did not really answer. For the rest of the evening, if you continue to do that, I will be forced to interrupt you and restate the question, asking you to please speak to what you have been asked.”
— Richard Dreger, Batavia
Judge them on their records
The debate is over. The candidates’ rhetoric will continue. As Election Day approaches, voters should consider: It’s not what they’ve been saying but what each has accomplished.
— Russell Harwood, Naperville
Education on Constitution
Did any pre- or post-debate commentators mention the venue of Tuesday’s presidential debate? Yes, they said it was in the all-important swing state of Pennsylvania and in its largest city of Philadelphia. But the fact that it was held in the National Constitution Center was quite ironic.
This is a museum and educational center that explains our plan of government and the rights of the people. It has exhibits on the separation of powers and the limited powers of government. It explains a document so important that all elected officials take an oath to abide by it.
Donald Trump, as president, abrogated that oath numerous times. He should have been required before he entered the race to go through the museum’s hallowed halls and to pass a test on its contents. From allegedly inciting a riot (14th Amendment, Section 3) to threatening the certification process (12th Amendment) to negating the rights of pregnant women to make lifesaving healthcare decisions (Ninth Amendment), this man has stomped all over this precious document. This list is too long for one letter.
All Trump supporters should be mandated to make a trip to this museum before they cast their next vote. They may learn how their support is so misguided, ill informed and very un-American.
— Jan Goldberg, Riverside
Trump did it to himself
Donald Trump has said President Joe Biden’s White House directed the Department of Justice to pursue legal action against him to harm his campaign for the presidency.
Did Trump telephone the secretary of state of Georgia to ask him to change a few thousand votes to help him win Georgia’s electoral votes in the 2020 election, or did the Department of Justice make that call?
Did Trump allegedly arrange for several boxes of classified documents to be moved to his Mar-A-Lago estate in defiance of the law, or did the Department of Justice?
Did Trump, on a cold day in January 2021, incite his followers to storm the Capital and disrupt congressional proceedings to approve the election of Joe Biden to the presidency, or did the Department of Justice?
Was Trump found liable in the rape of E. Jean Carroll, or was that the Department of Justice?
None of these actions is a positive inclusion on the resume of one seeking the office of president of the United States. To be clear, none of these actions was performed in the exercise of official duties of president, which would make him immune from prosecution.
To use one of Trump’s pet phrases: “It’s a disgrace!”
— John Hester, Indian Head Park
The limits of VP’s powers
The vice president presides over the U.S. Senate and casts the deciding vote in case of a tie. Nothing more.
Unless the president gives the VP additional duties, he or she is limited to what can legally be accomplished. With respect to what Donald Trump said about Kamala Harris’ handling of the border crisis, her authority goes as far as her boss, and Congress, will allow.
As for Trump saying that he will have the Israel-Hamas and Ukraine-Russia conflicts solved as soon as he is the president again, I ask if he has had a dog or a cat for dinner.
— Mark Bacharach, Chicago
Trump’s many deflections
The debate made me sick with Donald Trump. He wouldn’t admit his part on Jan. 6 and denied his “bloodbath” statement, and he indicated everything was a Democratic plot against him and that he won, not lost, the 2020 election. Also, he said he fired members of administration; they didn’t quit.
He blamed immigrants for crime increases. These people are filling jobs. Most are hardworking people hoping to achieve the American Dream, not criminals.
There are more jobs now than there were under Trump, and no one should forget how he initially fouled up the COVID-19 crisis.
I know inflation is currently bad, but I would rather have higher prices than suspension of our constitutional rights, consolidation of the three branches of government and Trump making himself dictator, just like Russian President Vladimir Putin.
I support Kamala Harris and restoring Roe v. Wade protections.
— Judy Arkes, Chicago
Uber rider offers insight
Our recent Uber ride from Chicago’s Midway Airport proved very enlightening. Our driver was a Jordan-born young man in the country for 10 years. As most conversations these days, the presidential candidates came up, and our driver did not hesitate to voice his opinion. He left Jordan to find work. He said America needs to be strong again and Donald Trump is his man. For him, there are two issues — the economy and safety. His food prices have doubled. He drives for a living, and gas prices are too high. He said we need a businessman to turn the economy around. He wants our safety to be in the hands of someone who isn’t afraid and who is feared by those who mean us harm. He felt a woman was not right for the job.
For him, the choice was clear.
— Sue Atkenson, Frankfort
We need ‘Pinocchio Index’
I think it would be interesting for someone to develop and publish a “Pinocchio Index” for each political party after fact-checking their speeches. The more lies, the longer Pinocchio’s nose.
— Richard Powers, Park Ridge
Why is Trump their guy?
In her letter (“Black women rethinking vote,” Sept. 8), P Rae Easley gives several reasons why “the relationship between Black women and the Democratic Party has changed, and we Black women are exploring our political options.” Further, she states that “sharing collard green recipes and doing sorority strolls is not enough to convince us to stay.”
Other than the former president, who is a pathological liar, a convicted felon, a self-serving narcissist, a name-calling bully and a demonstrable bigot against people of color, what are their options? If No. 45 is their guy, she certainly fails to explain why.
Now that would have been informative.
— Karen Teplitzky, Chicago
Control over inflation
Economics 101 should be mandatory in all high schools and colleges. Maybe then we would not read well-meaning letters from readers such as P Rae Easley implying that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, among the many previous and future holders of their offices, are somehow responsible for the inflation that coincidentally occurred during their times in office. If they had such power, it would be in their best interest to manipulate it so as to make their administrations look flawless in coping with national and global economic fluctuations. But they simply don’t. Inflation is a threat to all that global economics players try to keep controlled, for mutual benefit.
If the politicians Easley named did have such control, they would use it constructively to benefit our own economy, then the world’s, aiming for uninterrupted smooth sailing, without inflation or recessions, which could also get them reelected.
Alas, that is only a pipe dream, given how complex and massive the global economy is. It is misleading even to imply that such power exists, even though it is human nature to want someone to blame when we feel the pinch.
— Ted Z. Manuel, Chicago
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